2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Kalmaegi (Ramon)
On November 11, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center began monitoring a disturbance situated only a couple hundred miles off the coast of the Philippines. Despite initial models suggesting it would be short lived and move towards land, it quickly organized as sea surface temperatures became very conducive for development, and the JTWC issued a tropical cyclone formation alert late on November 11. Later, it developed into Tropical Depression 27W, and subsequently issued the name Ramon. Ramon intensified into a tropical storm by November 13, and was given the name Kalmaegi by the JMA.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Kalmaegi (Ramon)
Up until November 16, Ramon appeared very disorganised as its low-level circulation center was exposed to high amounts of wind shear and dry air intrusion restricted any strengthening. On November 17, Kalmaegi entered favorable waters and then intensified into a severe tropical storm. By the next day, Kalmaegi intensified into a Category 1 typhoon, forecasted to hit the Ilocos region. On November 20, it hit Santa Ana, Cagayan instead of the Ilocos Region, and rapidly dissipated inland.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Kalmaegi (Ramon)
Across Cagayan Province, the storm caused ₱618.7 million (US$12.4 million) in damage.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Severe Tropical Storm Fung-wong (Sarah)
A tropical depression formed in November 18 as the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued a TCFA for the system. By the next day, PAGASA named the storm Sarah. On November 19, Sarah intensified into a tropical storm, and was given the international name of Fung-wong. Fung-wong then strengthened into a severe tropical storm east of Luzon, and for the JTWC, developed into a minimal Category 1 typhoon. Soon, Fung-wong was hindered by northeasterly wind shear, and began to weaken rapidly while moving northeast, and dissipated into a remnant Low Pressure Area (LPA) west of Okinawa, Japan.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Kammuri (Tisoy)
On November 23, a low pressure system developed to the southeast of Guam. It then began to show signs of development and earned a defined circulation, developing into a tropical depression on 25 November, with the JTWC assigning it as 29W. The depression then began to develop banding features to the northeast of its center. The storm then intensified slightly, earning the name Kammuri, which is the Japanese word for the constellation Corona Borealis. Kammuri then passed south of Guam, and further intensified into a severe tropical storm on November 27, and then into a typhoon the next day.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Kammuri (Tisoy)
Upwelling of itself due to its quasi-stationary movement combined with moderate wind shear hindered significant intensification of Kammuri over the next three days as it moved into the Philippine Area of Responsibility, with PAGASA subsequently assigning the typhoon the name Tisoy. Kammuri began to show signs of rapid intensification again on December 1, ultimately intensifying to a Category 4 typhoon the next day. It made landfall at peak intensity on that day in the Bicol Region and began to weaken, weakening to a Category 3 typhoon that evening. On November 30, Kammuri produced possibly the record lowest known cloud top temperature at −109.4 °C (−164.9 °F).


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Kammuri (Tisoy)
As of January 22, 2020, 17 people have been found dead while 318 were injured. Estimated damages across the central Philippines have been at Php6.65 billion (US$130 million), according from the NDRRMC.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Phanfone (Ursula)
On December 19, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center began monitoring a low pressure system to the southeast of Micronesia. The next day, the JTWC issued an orange alert in terms of its chance of development, and on the next day, they subsequently followed with a tropical cyclone formation alert. On that same day, as the formation alert was issued, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its first advisory on the system as a tropical depression. It was given the identifier '30W' on late December 21.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Phanfone (Ursula)
The JMA then upgraded the system to a tropical storm 6 hours later and issued the name Phanfone, but the JTWC still classified the system as a tropical depression. The system proceeded to move into the Philippine Area of Responsibility on December 23, 5:00 am PST, and was named Ursula by the PAGASA. On the same day, the JTWC finally upgraded the system to a tropical storm.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Typhoon Phanfone (Ursula)
Owing to favorable conditions, Phanfone intensified into a severe tropical storm on December 23, and further intensified into a Category 2 typhoon shortly before making landfall near Salcedo in Eastern Samar, causing drastic flooding and mudslides in the region weeks after Typhoon KammuriThe total reported damages of the typhoon is at $67.2 million (or ₱3.44 billion) and the total fatalities is 50 deaths (with 55 missing). The name Ursula was retired, replaced with Ugong for 2023.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
Many of the tropical depressions of the season failed to intensify into tropical storms, or even be numbered.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
During May 7, the JMA reported that two tropical depressions had developed over the basin. The first was located to the south of Palau and remained near stationary, before it was last noted during the next day. The second system developed near the Federal States of Micronesia and slowly moved westwards over the next few days before it was last noted as tropical depression during May 11. During May 10, a third tropical depression developed to the south of Palau. On June 26, a tropical depression briefly formed in the East China Sea, near the Ryukyu Islands. Later that day, the storm was absorbed into the circulation of a nearby system which would eventually become Tropical Storm Sepat.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
On August 6, a tropical depression formed in the South China Sea, to the west of Luzon. On August 8, the tropical depression degenerated into a remnant low, and was absorbed by larger Typhoon Lekima to its east. 2 tropical depressions were monitored by JMA, to the Taiwan Strait and out in the North Pacific. On August 17, another depression formed and the JMA started monitoring it. However, a day later, it degenerated to a remnant low. A tropical depression formed to the southwest of Luzon on September 1.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
Slowly moving northwards, the system slowly intensified and was later designated as a TCFA by the JTWC. However by 18:00 UTC of September 2, the system rapidly deteriorated as it was getting absorbed by the outflow of the nearby Tropical Storm Kajiki. Another depression formed on September 4 but soon dissipated in the next day.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
On September 7, the JMA began monitoring on a weak tropical depression that had developed to the east of Taiwan. The JTWC upgraded this system to a subtropical depression. The system gradually intensified, however by September 10, the JMA downgraded the system a low-pressure area as it neared the Korean Peninsula. On September 15, another tropical depression briefly existed just to the south of Japan before it quickly transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, but not before interacting with the remnants of Marilyn, along with Tropical Storm Peipah, they pushed Marilyn back into the Philippine Area of Responsibility.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
Another tropical depression briefly existed on September 17 in the South China Sea, making landfall in east Luzon before being absorbed by the outflow of the developing Tropical Storm Tapah. On October 1, the JMA began to track a weak tropical depression that had developed in the Philippine Sea. The system moved westward while remaining very weak and disorganized until it was last noticed on October 3, to the northeast of Luzon. On October 22, a weak tropical depression briefly existed well north of the island of Palau.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Systems, Other systems
On November 29, a tropical depression formed on the Western part of the Philippines while the Typhoon Kammuri lashes out the country, but it dissipated 2 days later.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Storm names
Within the Northwest Pacific Ocean, both the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) assign names to tropical cyclones that develop in the Western Pacific, which can result in a tropical cyclone having two names. The Japan Meteorological Agency's RSMC Tokyo — Typhoon Center assigns international names to tropical cyclones on behalf of the World Meteorological Organization's Typhoon Committee, should they be judged to have 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph).


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Storm names
PAGASA names to tropical cyclones which move into or form as a tropical depression in their area of responsibility located between 135°E and 115°E and between 5°N and 25°N even if the cyclone has had an international name assigned to it. The names of significant tropical cyclones are retired, by both PAGASA and the Typhoon Committee. Should the list of names for the Philippine region be exhausted then names will be taken from an auxiliary list of which the first ten are published each season. Unused names are marked in gray.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Storm names, International names
During the season 29 tropical storms developed in the Western Pacific and each one was named by the JMA, when the system was judged to have 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). The JMA selected the names from a list of 140 names, that had been developed by the 14 members nations and territories of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee. During the season, the names Mun, Bailu and Bualoi were used for the first time, after they replaced the names Fitow, Haiyan and Rammasun which were retired after the 2013 and 2014 seasons, respectively.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Storm names, International names, Retirement
After the season, the Typhoon Committee announced that the names Lekima, Faxai, Hagibis, Kammuri, and Phanfone would be removed from the naming lists. In 2021, they were replaced by Co-may, Nongfa, Ragasa, Koto, and Nokaen, respectively.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Storm names, Philippines
During the season PAGASA used its own naming scheme for the 21 tropical cyclones, that either developed within or moved into their self-defined area of responsibility. The names were taken from a list of names, that had been last used during 2015 and are scheduled to be used again during 2023. The names Liwayway, Nimfa, Perla and Sarah were used for the first time after the names Lando, Nona, Pedring and Sendong were retired.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Storm names, Philippines, Retirement
After the season, PAGASA had announced that the names Tisoy and Ursula would be eliminated from their naming lists after these typhoons caused a combined total of ₱11 billion damages both in Infrastructure and Agriculture on their respective onslaught in the country. In January 2020, the PAGASA chose the names Tamaraw and Ugong to replace Tisoy and Ursula for the 2023 season.


2019 Pacific typhoon season, Season effects
This table summarizes all the systems that developed within or moved into the North Pacific Ocean, to the west of the International Date Line during 2019. The tables also provide an overview of a systems intensity, duration, land areas affected and any deaths or damages associated with the system.


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships
The 2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships was held from November 2 to 9 at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center in Shenzhen, China. The top men's team and the top two women's teams qualified for the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship and 2020 World Women's Curling Championship respectively. The next two placed teams of each gender qualified for the World Qualification Event, a chance to qualify for the World Curling Championships.


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Teams
Fourth: Dean HewittSkip: Sean HallSecond: Tanner DavisLead: Jay MerchantAlternate: Matthew Millikin


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Teams
Skip : Zou QiangThird: Wang ZhiyuSecond: Tian JiafengLead: Xu JingtaoAlternate: Han Peng


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Teams
Skip : Jason ChangThird: Justin ChenSecond: Martin YanLead: Woody ChengAlternate: Kelvin Cheung


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Teams
Skip : Yuta MatsumuraThird: Tetsuro ShimizuSecond: Yasumasa TanidaLead: Kosuke AitaAlternate: Shinya Abe


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Teams
Skip : Abylaikhan ZhuzbayThird: Azizbek NadirbayevSecond: Madiyar KorabayevLead: Aidos AlliyarAlternate: Nikita Shishkin


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Teams
Skip : Nasser AlyafeiThird: Ahmed Saad Al-FahadSecond: Salem AliLead: Abdulrahman Ali MohsenAlternate: Mouaaz Mlis


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Men, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in China Standard Time (UTC+08:00).


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Skip : Han YuThird: Zhang LijunSecond: Jiang XindiLead: Zhao RuiyiAlternate: Yu Jiaxin


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Skip : Ling-Yue HungThird: Ada ShangSecond: Ashura WongLead: On Na Anna NgaiAlternate: Pianpian Hu


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Fourth: Ikue KitazawaThird: Chiaki MatsumuraSkip: Seina NakajimaLead: Hasumi IshigookaAlternate: Emi Shimizu


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Skip : Sitora AlliyarovaThird: Anastassiya SpirikovaSecond: Angelina EbauyerLead: Yekaterina KolykhalovaAlternate: Tilsimay Alliyarova


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Skip : Gim Un-chiThird: Um Min-jiSecond: Kim Su-jiLead: Seol Ye-eunAlternate: Seol Ye-ji


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Skip : Mubarkah Al-AbdullaThird: Maryam BinaliSecond: Sara Al-QaetLead: Amna Al-QaetAlternate: Kholoud Al-Mukdad


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Teams
Skip : Heidi LinThird: Amanda ChouSecond: Stephanie LeeLead: Ko YangAlternate: I-Ling Liu


2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, Women, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in China Standard Time (UTC+08:00).


2019 Pahang FA season
The 2019 season was Pahang's 16th season in the Malaysian Super League since its inception in 2004.


2019 Pahang FA season, Friendlies
Pahang confirmed friendlies against UiTM, Selangor United, Kelantan United, Terengganu II, Visakha, Chonburi and Army United.


2019 Pahang FA season, Competitions, Malaysia Super League, Matches
On 22 December 2018, the Malaysia Super League fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.


2019 Pakistan Army military plane crash
On 30 July 2019, a Beechcraft King Air of the Pakistan Army crashed near Bahria Town, Rawalpindi. All five crew members, as well as 13 civilians, were killed when the plane crashed into a residential area.


2019 Pakistan Cup
The 2019 Pakistan Cup was the fourth edition of the Pakistan Cup, a List A cricket competition which was contested between five teams. It was held from 2 to 12 April 2019, with all the matches played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stated that the top performers in the tournament would be considered for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England.


2019 Pakistan Cup
Federal Areas were the defending champions, but they lost their first three matches of the tournament, therefore eliminating them from competition. On 9 April 2019, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Sindh by nine runs to advance to the final of the tournament. The result meant that Baluchistan also progressed to the final, regardless of the outcome of their last match against Federal Areas. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the tournament, to win their second title, after beating Balochistan by nine runs in the final.


2019 Pakistan Cup, Squads
Prior to the start of the tournament, the PCB named the following squads:


2019 Pakistan Super League
2019 Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 4 or for sponsorship reasons HBL PSL 2019) was the fourth season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2015. The tournament took place from 14 February to 17 March 2019.


2019 Pakistan Super League
In the championship game, Quetta Gladiators defeated Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets in Karachi to win the title for the first time. Mohammad Hasnain of Quetta was named the Man of the Match of the Final. Shane Watson, also of Quetta, was awarded the Player of the Tournament award and the leading run scorer award with a total of 435 runs in the tournament. Hasan Ali of Peshawar was awarded the leading wicket taker award with a total of 25 wickets.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Background
On 10 November 2018, PCB terminated franchise agreements with the owner of Multan Sultans, Schön Properties. Ali Khan Tareen is the new owner of the team. On 14 November, PCB announced that HBL Pakistan has renewed its partnership with PSL for 3 more years until 2021. On 21 December, Blitz Advertising won the broadcasting rights for 3 years on a bid of US$36 million, which is 358% greater amount than before.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Broadcasting partners
The broadcasting rights of the 4th season of PSL were given to various Sports channels for covering the event in different countries. The broadcasting rights of the season in Pakistan were given to leading sports channels, PTV Sports & Geo Super, whereas in United States and Canada the rights were given to Willow TV. Hum TV was given the rights to broadcast the series in UK & Europe. The OTT rights for Middle-Eastern and North Africa Countries were given to Cricketgateway.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Broadcasting partners
In case of India the broadcasting rights were given to DSports which partnered with Daily Fantasy Site, MyTeam11, to co-present PSL in India.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Teams and squads
Each franchise retained up to 10 players during the trade and retention window that started on 29 September. A squad of 16 players, with 4 supplementary players, was then completed in players draft held at Islamabad on 20 November. On 16 December 2018, PSL announced that each team will have additional budget to select 21-member squad. The replacement draft was held on 24 January in Lahore.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Venues
On 12 June 2018, the franchises and PCB officials in a meeting decided against the idea of having a full PSL fourth edition in Pakistan. The new PCB chairman Ehsan Mani announced on 15 September that tournament was to start from 14 February 2019 in UAE, and the last eight games were to be held in Pakistan along with the final that will be played on 17 March in Karachi.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Venues
For the first time, four PSL matches were played in Abu Dhabi.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Venues
Originally, three matches were scheduled to be played in Lahore but due to logistical and operational challenges posed by the delayed opening of Lahore airspace for commercial flights following military tensions between Pakistan and India, the matches were shifted to Karachi. Mani said that PCB had made a critical decision and the "headquarters of Pakistan cricket will be unable to host" 2019 PSL matches.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media
The league was promoted on social media by the hashtag #HBLPSL due to its title sponsor, and by its official anthem #KhelDeewanoKa.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media, Ceremonies, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held on 14 February at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, prior to the first match of the season. It was started by the national anthems of UAE "Ishy Bilady", and of Pakistan "Qaumi Taranah" as usual. It then featured a marching band, which performed Europe's "The Final Countdown". Then, British singer Marcia Barrett, from German band Boney M., performed her band's song "Daddy Cool". Aima Baig and Shuja Haider performed on their rendition of Nazia Hassan and Zohaib Hassan's "Disco Deewane". Then members of Junoon band performed on their "Yaar Bina", "Heerey" and "Jazba-e-Junoon". The last performance included title anthem of the league's fourth season by Fawad Khan featuring Young Desi. Then, melody of Ali Zafar's previous anthems for PSL was played, followed by fireworks.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media, Ceremonies, Opening ceremony
A list of artists to perform at the ceremony was officially released on 18 January, according to which American rapper Pitbull was also confirmed to perform, however, later he withdrew due to a technical fault in his plane's engine.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media, Ceremonies, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the league, hosted by Fakhar-e-Alam, was held at National Stadium, Karachi, on 17 March prior to the league's final match. One minute silence was observed in respect of the martyrs of Christchurch mosque shootings.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media, Ceremonies, Closing ceremony
Then Abrar-ul-Haq performed his song "Nach Majajan". Aima Baig and Shuja Haider once again paid tribute to Nazia Hassan by performing "Dosti" and "Disco Deewane". Fawad Khan featuring Young Desi performed the title anthem of the league's fourth season. Sahir Ali Bagga then performed a patriotic song "Har Dil Ki Awaz". Last performance was by Junoon, who sang "Zamaane Ke Andaaz", "Khudi Ko Kar Buland", "Sayonee" and "Dil Dil Pakistan".


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media, Ceremonies, Closing ceremony
The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Spanish World Cup winning footballer Carles Puyol and the cast of the upcoming Pakistani film The Legend of Maula Jatt also appeared at the ceremony. Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and Governor Sindh Imran Ismail also attended the final match.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Promotion in media, Cancer awareness
International Child Hood Cancer Awareness Day was observed on 15 February with golden ribbon as a theme, while Breast Cancer Awareness Day was observed on 10 March with pink ribbon as a theme. The stadiums were also themed respectively.


2019 Pakistan Super League, League stage, Format
The six teams all played 10 matches each and got 2 points for every win, none for a loss and 1 point for a no result. The top four teams in the group stage qualified for the play-offs.


2019 Pakistan Super League, Fixtures
The complete fixture schedule was released on 13 December 2018. On 3 March 2019, the updated schedule for Pakistan round was released.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final
The 2019 Pakistan Super League Final was a Twenty20 cricket match, played on 17 March 2019 at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan to determine the winner of the 2019 Pakistan Super League. It ended as Quetta Gladiators defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 8 wickets to win their first title. Mohammad Hasnain was awarded man of the match award.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final
Some 20 percent of the tickets for the final were sold online on 20 February 2019. While the rest of the tickets were sold starting from 25 February 2019 at TCS Courier centers.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Route to the Final
During the group stage of the 2019 Pakistan Super League each team played ten matches, two against each of the other sides contesting the competition. 26 matches were played in the United Arab Emirates while 7 matches were played in Karachi. The top four teams progressed to the playoff stage. Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiator finished the group stage with first and second position respectively by winning seven of their matches and losing three. Peshawar came on top because of the higher run rate.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Match
The final match was played between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in a packed 32,000 capacity National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Match, Report
Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field. In the first innings, Peshawar Zalmi's openers Imam-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal were out early-on, for 3 runs off 4 balls at 1.3 overs and for 21 runs off 15 balls at the end of the fourth over, respectively. Following which Sohaib Maqsood, added 31 runs for the third wicket with Umar Amin before getting caught at long off scoring run-a-ball 20. Amin, the top scorer for his side, was caught out at deep mid-wicket after making 38 runs off 33 balls.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Match, Report
Nabi Gul was caught out at 14.4 overs for 9 runs off 12 balls. Kieron Pollard was caught behind for seven off 12 balls. Later, Darren Sammy and Wahab Riaz added 28 runs for the seventh wicket. Zalmi scored 138-8 in 20 overs batting first with Quetta Gladiators' pacer Mohammad Hasnain finishing his four overs with the figures of 3-30 and Dwayne Bravo finishing with 2-24.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Match, Report
In the second innings, Quetta Gladiators' Ahmed Shehzad, who scored 58 runs not out off 51-balls and Ahsan Ali, who scored a 18-ball 25 added 47 for the second wicket after opener Shane Watson was run out for seven runs in the third over. Shehzad's unbroken partnership of 73 runs for the third wicket with Rilee Rossouw who made 39 not out off 32 balls, helped Gladiators achieve the target in 17.5 overs. Rossouw took the winning single. Thus, Gladiators won their maiden PSL title by beating Zalmi by eight wickets. Hasnain was named the man-of-the-match.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Scorecard
Toss : Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Scorecard
Fall of wickets: 4/1 (Imam-ul-Haq, 1.3 ov), 31/2 (Kamran Akmal, 3.6 ov), 62/3 (Sohaib Maqsood, 9.3 ov), 90/4 (Umar Amin, 13.1 ov), 96/5 (Nabi Gul, 14.4 ov), 110/6 (KA Pollard, 16.6 ov), 138/7 (Wahab Riaz, 19.5 ov), 138/8 (Daren Sammy, 20 ov)


2019 Pakistan Super League Final, Scorecard
Fall of wickets: 19/1 (Watson, 2.4 ov), 64/2 (Ahsan Ali, 7.4 ov)


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft
The players draft for the 2019 Pakistan Super League was held on 20 November 2018 at Islamabad. More than 630 players ware included in the draft, from which each franchise finalised a squad of 16 players along with 4 supplementary players. The tournament was the fourth season of Pakistan Super League, and took place between 14 February and 17 March 2019.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Background
On 29 September 2018, the trade and retention window started. 89 players from Pakistan were announced in five renewed categories; 14 in platinum, 9 in diamond, 20 in gold, 34 in silver and 12 in emerging. 14 overseas players in Platinum category were announced on 4 October. The business window closed on 13 November.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Background
It was reported that Ahmed Shehzad will remain a part of the draft, despite his four-month-ban on international game. It was also reported on 31 October that Misbah-ul-Haq decided not to play in fourth onward seasons of PSL, though he will continue to be part of the team United. However, on 19 November, he decided to play in the season and parted ways with United. Brendon McCullum also announced on 3 November that he will not play for Qalandars, and Mohammad Hafeez announced on 8 November his leave from Zalmi. Shahid Afridi also left the team Kings as they decided not to retain him.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Transfers
On 16 October 2018, it was announced that Sohail Tanvir was transferred from Sultans to Gladiators for a Diamond pick. On 3 November, it was announced that Sunil Narine and Umar Akmal were transferred from Qalandars to Gladiators, in change of Hasan Khan, Rahat Ali and a platinum pick.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Retained players
On 13 November 2018, PSL announced the retention players list with all six teams retaining a total of 51 players from previous season.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Draft picks
Following is the list of players picked in the draft by the respective team:


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Replacements
The replacement draft was held at Gaddafi Stadium on 24 January 2019. The teams were allowed to pick 21st member in the squad, and to replace the unavailable players with the available ones. Qalandars picked Saad Ali as 21st player and named Hardus Viljoen and David Wiese to play in partial absence of AB de Villiers, Carlos Brathwaite and Corey Anderson. Sultans expanded the squad with Hammad Azam, and picked Andre Russell and James Vince in place of injured Steve Smith and Joe Denly respectively. Gladiators' expansion pick was Mohammad Irfan, while Dwayne Smith will be playing during the absence of Dwayne Bravo. Kings picked Umer Khan as 21st player, and Zalmi replaced Waqar Salamkheil with Andre Fletcher. Meanwhile, Zalmi and United didn't submit their squad expansion pick.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Replacements
Few days before the tournament, Johnson Charles replaced Nicholas Pooran in Sultans squad, who became unavailable after being selected for the ODI series against England, and Mohammad Hasnain replaced Naseem Shah in Gladiators squad, after the latter suffered an injury. On 10 February, it was reported that Chris Green will be playing as a replacement for both Dan Christian and James Vince only for first week of the season, and when Andre Russell would leave after both players arrive, he will become replacement player for Russell in the squad.


2019 Pakistan Super League players draft, Replacements
A day before the tournament, Zalmi picked Pakistani opener Imam-ul-Haq as their 21st player. Qalandars Captain Mohammad Hafeez suffered a thumb injury while bowling against Karachi Kings which resulted in him being ruled out of the season, he was replaced by Salman Butt. Lendl Simmons and Tymal Mills replaced Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan, respectively in Peshawar Zalmi squad, after both were selected in England's squad for the T20I series against West Indies. Riki Wessels replaced Ryan ten Doeschate in Qalandars' squad after the latter injured himself while bowling in a match against Peshawar Zalmi, while Asela Gunaratne replaced Corey Anderson as he was unavailable for Pakistan leg.


2019 Pakistan Super League squads
The franchises in 2019 Pakistan Super League prepared their squads during the trade and retentions between 29 September 2018 and 12 November, and finalised in the draft held at Islamabad on 20 November 2018, while made expansion in replacement draft held in Lahore on 24 January. The tournament is the fourth season of Pakistan Super League.


2019 Pakistan floods and storms
From February to April 2019, widespread flash flooding affected large parts of Pakistan, most severely in Balochistan, KPK, Punjab, and other provinces. Pakistan has been hit by three major waves of rain and flooding over the course of more than one month. The first wave of rain began on 20 February, leading to flooding in to Khyber and Balochistan, therefore many villages and several cities have been evacuated, and more than 1,500 families has been rescued alone in Balochistan and many in other states. The 20 February rain and thunderstorms caused flash floods in the Lasbela area.


2019 Pakistan floods and storms
The main areas affected were Turbat, Tump, Nasirabad and Dasht where 300 people were displaced due to the flood. These people were then moved to camps established by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Casualties have came mostly due to roof collapsing amid heavy rains and flash flooding. Khyber Pakhtunwkha has witnessed the most deaths till now, 40, alongside Balochsitan has faced 26 casualties with more than 9 in Punjab and other places. Due to rain, flood and storm casualties are increasing.


2019 Palanca Awards
The 69th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was held on November 8, 2019, at the Peninsula Hotel Manila in Makati. Fifty-six writers, 32 of whom won the award for the first time, received the prestigious literary award. There were a total of 22 writing categories, with the bi-annual Novel and Novela categories open for this year. All the entries were evaluated by literary personalities from various fields.


2019 Palanca Awards
Decorated screenplay writer and author Lamberto E. Antonio was named a Palanca Awards Hall of Famer, receiving a first prize award for the fifth time. Also, the ceremonies saw the posthumous awarding of Milagros Palanca-Furer, the proponent of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. She was instrumental in helping spur creative writing in the country and is being rightfully recognized for her unwavering dedication to the interest of the Filipino writer.


2019 Pan Am Badminton Championships
The XXIII 2019 Pan Am Badminton Championships was a continental championships tournament of badminton in Pan America. This tournament was held as two events in different countries. From 14 to 17 February, the team event was held in Lima, Peru. From 25 to 28 April, the individual event was held in Aguascalientes, Mexico.


2019 Pan Am Badminton Championships, Tournament
The team event of 2019 Pan Am Badminton Championships officially XXIII Pan Am Mixed Team Continental Championships, was a team continental championships tournament of badminton, to crown the best mixed team in Pan America. This event was organized by the Badminton Pan Am and Federación Deportiva Peruana de Badminton. 11 teams entered the tournament.


2019 Pan Am Badminton Championships, Tournament
The individual event of Pan Am Badminton Championships was an individual continental championships tournament of badminton, to crowns the best male and female players and pairs in Pan America. The ranking points of this tournament were graded as BWF World Tour Super 100 event. This event was organized by the Badminton Pan Am and Federacion Nacional de Badminton Guatemala.


2019 Pan Am Badminton Championships, Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the tables with the point distribution for each phase of the individual event tournament based on the BWF points system for the Pan Am Badminton Championships.


2019 Pan American Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships
The 3rd Pan American Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships were held in Monterrey, Mexico from November 22 to 24, 2019. The competition was organized by the Mexican Gymnastics Federation and approved by the International Gymnastics Federation.


2019 Pan American Aerobic Gymnastics Championships
The 2019 Pan American Aerobic Gymnastics Championships were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from October 10 to 13, 2019. The competition was approved by the International Gymnastics Federation.


2019 Pan American Fencing Championships
The 2019 Pan American Fencing Championships were held in Toronto, Canada from 27 June to July 1, 2019.


2019 Pan American Games
The 2019 Pan American Games (Spanish: Juegos Panamericanos de 2019), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, was held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminary rounds in certain events having begun on July 24, 2019.


2019 Pan American Games
The opening ceremony took place on July 26 at the National Stadium, and the Games were declared open by former Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra.


2019 Pan American Games
These Pan American Games were held at venues in and around Lima, and are the largest sporting event ever hosted by the country.


2019 Pan American Games, Bidding process
A total of four bids were submitted for the 2019 Pan American Games, and they were officially announced on February 1, 2013. These were Lima in Peru, Santiago in Chile, Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela and La Punta in Argentina. Lima bid for the games for the second consecutive time after losing to Toronto for the 2015 edition of the games. Santiago had won the rights to stage the 1975 and 1987 Pan American Games but withdrew both times before hosting. The other two cities bid for the games for the first time. Lima was elected as the host city on October 11, 2013 where PASO members gathered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to elect the host city. The city was considered the favourite to win the rights to host throughout the contest.


2019 Pan American Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The events were held in various Lima districts and neighboring cities, with most of them concentrated in the clusters of VIDENA (a complex in the San Luis District), Pan American Park (Villa María del Triunfo), the Sports Village of Callao, and a sports complex in Costa Verde.


2019 Pan American Games, Development and preparation, Financing
The total budget is estimated at US$1.2 billion, with $470 million in sports infrastructure, $180 million building the Pan American Village, $430 million spent in organization, and $106 million for other expenses.


2019 Pan American Games, Development and preparation, Athletes' Village
9,500 athletes and team officials were accommodated in a complex with 1,700 units in Villa El Salvador.


2019 Pan American Games, Development and preparation, Torch relay
The torch was sent from Mexico to Lima by sailboat, and the torch relay started in Machu Picchu. The torch had toured through 23 cities over 23 days and covered 5,500 kilometers en route to the Peru National Stadium in Lima on July 26, 2019 for the opening ceremony. The cities include Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Cusco, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Camaná, Nazca, Ica, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Cerro de Pasco, Huánuco, Tocache, Tarapoto, Bagua Grande, Piura, Cajamarca, Trujillo and Huaraz.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Ceremonies
The opening ceremony of the games took place on July 26, 2019, and the closing ceremony took place on August 11, 2019.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees
All 41 nations who are members of the Pan American Sports Organization competed at the event. The numbers in parenthesis represents the number of athletes a country qualified.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Sports
419 events in 39 sports were contested in Lima, the largest number of medal events ever held at a single edition of the Pan American Games. Bodybuilding and surfing were contested at the Pan-Am Games for the first time in 2019, basque pelota was reinstated after being absent from the 2015 Games, and women's baseball was dropped after debuting in 2015.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Sports
Almost all of the new events being contested at the 2020 Summer Olympics were already on the Pan-Am Games' programme. Sport climbing was excluded because it did not have the required number of national federations in the Americas to be eligible for inclusion. Skateboarding was pulled from the programme in May 2019, with Panam Sports citing that World Skate had diminished the quality of the event by having not made the Games be a qualifier for the Olympics, and its partner Street League Skateboarding (SLS) having scheduled a World Tour event in Los Angeles that directly conflicted with the Games.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Sports
The new event disciplines introduced for the 2020 Summer Olympics were also added, including the 4 × 100m mixed medley relay, men's 800m and women's 1,500m in swimming, 3-on-3 basketball, BMX freestyle park, two new women's boxing events, madison track cycling, the transfer of three men's events to mixed team events in shooting, table tennis mixed doubles, archery mixed team, and triathlon mixed relay. There was a reduction of one men's weightlifting event, and all canoe events being gender-neutral (removing a men's event from each discipline).


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Sports
In addition, a 1m springboard discipline was added to diving, as well as compound archery, modern pentathlon relays (with mixed, men's, and women's events), 49er, Nacra 17 and kiteboarding (the latter two replacing the Hobie 16 and J/24) events in sailing, extreme canoe slalom, mixed doubles squash, women's wakeboard, poomsae events in taekwondo, women's 50 km race walking, and doubles table tennis.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Sports
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events to be contested in each sport/discipline.


2019 Pan American Games, The Games, Calendar
The calendar was unveiled on April 18, 2019, 100 days ahead to the start of the competition.


2019 Pan American Games, Media, Broadcasting
Mediapro served as host broadcaster. The Lima Convention Centre hosted the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). Panam Sports also launched the Panam Sports Channel on its website, which featured supplemental video content from the Games hosted by local personality Alexandra Hörler.


2019 Pan American Games, Marketing, Logo
The official logo of the 2019 Pan American Games is inspired by the amancay, an indigenous flower that flourishes from June 24 through September 30. The flower and its pistils represent three athletes with open arms and the three Americas, with the identity of Lima. It was designed by Peruvian graphic designers Juan Diego Sanz and Jorge Luis Zárate.


2019 Pan American Games, Marketing, Mascot
In June 2017, after over a thousand submissions, the organising committee revealed the final three in the running to be the mascot of the games. The final three designs were: Milco, which was influenced by Cuchimilco sculptures (pre-Hispanic figures of Chancay culture developed in Lima around 1200–1470 A.D.); a flower named Amantis; and Wayqi, a leaf-toed gecko. In July 2017, it was announced Milco was the winner of the contest, receiving 45% of the vote. There was approximately 44,154 votes cast in the contest, the most ever for a mascot competition for the Pan American Games. The winning designer of the competition was awarded 15,000 Peruvian sol (or approximately US$4,600). Milco's body is orange and the colour of his shorts is red, while his T-shirt is white, representing the colors of the Peruvian flag. Milco was designed by 24-year-old Andrea Norka Medrano Moy.


2019 Pan American Games Parade of Nations
During the Parade of Nations at the 2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, on July 26, 2019, 41 athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations lead their national delegations as they paraded into Estadio Nacional in the host city of Lima, Peru


2019 Pan American Games Parade of Nations, March order
Athletes entered the stadium in an order dictated by tradition. As the host of the first Pan American Games, Argentina entered first. The Peruvian delegation entered last, representing the host nation. The remaining countries entered in Spanish alphabetical order as per Pan American Sports Organization protocol.


2019 Pan American Games Qualifier
The 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier is a baseball tournament that was held between January 29 and February 3, 2019 in Ibiúna and São Paulo, Brazil. The tournament qualified the last four teams to the Baseball at the 2019 Pan American Games tournament in Lima, Peru.


2019 Pan American Games Qualifier
Four teams qualified for the 2019 Pan American Games: Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.


2019 Pan American Games Qualifier, Qualification
Canada and the USA qualified automatically along with the hosts Brazil, and five teams not qualifying for the 2019 Pan American Games, from the Baseball at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games also qualifying. The United States withdrew, meaning the Dominican Republic as the next best ranked team from the Central American and Caribbean Games replaced them. It was announced on 21 January 2019, that the Venezuelan team withdrew due to financial concerns. The team will not be replaced.


2019 Pan American Games Qualifier, Venues
Two venues were used, one each in Ibiúna and São Paulo.


2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2019 Pan American Games took place on Sunday August 11, 2019 at the Estadio Nacional del Perú in Lima, Peru and ran from 20:00 to 22:20 PET. The ceremony is entitled Dance of Diversity and featured a stage composed by fragments of stonework, inspired by the walls built by the Incas. It was produced by Italian company Balich Worldwide Shows and directed by creative director Nikos Lagosakos.


2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony
The Ceremony begins with the introduction of Neven Ilic, Carlos Neuhaus and Martín Vizcarra and the raising of the Peruvian flag by Peruvian Armed Forces personnel to the national anthem. This was followed by projection of different Peruvian faces on one of the stages to represent the diversity of cultures and communities in Peru. Afterwards, the athletes enter the stadium with the flags of the participating countries to the music set by a DJ. This was followed by display of Highlights of the Games video.


2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony
A video in recognition of the volunteers effort was also shown after the President of the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee, Carlos Neuhaus gives Milco miniatures to a few volunteers as appreciation. The ceremony featured pre-Hispanic arts and artifacts in pre-Hispanic memories segment, the Moche culture in Mochicas, Arpilleras–the hand-sewn three dimensional textiles and dances from various regions of Peru in Dancing through Peru. Naysha performed charango in the last segment. Later, the President of the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee, Carlos Neuhaus, and the President of Panam Sports, Neven Ilic, give their speeches. Neven Ilic offers a special gift to two young Peruvian athletes and declared the Games closed.


2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony
The Panam Sports flag is lowered and handed over by Mayor of Lima Jorge Muñoz Wells through President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra and President ofPanam Sports, Neven Ilic to Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile for the next Pan American Games in 2023. Chilean singer Alejandra Ramirez performed the National Anthem of Chile as the Flag of Chile is raised by Peruvian Armed Forces personnel. A cultural performance from Chile is presented to highlight the nation as next host of the event. It featured international dance troupe Power Peralta Brothers and singer Francisca Valenzuela.


2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony
A couple of dancers: Maria Martha Reverte and Alex Donet (male dancer) entered the stage and dance Marinera duet in "Adios Lima", the segment that represent farewell to Lima as the host of 2019 Pan American Games. The flame on the cauldron was extinguished after the Maria the female dancer blew her handkerchief into the air. The ceremony concluded with the Peruvian Amazonia segment, Gian Marco performance of four songs: Lejos de ti, Hoy, Sácala a bailar and Contigo Perú and DJ set by Shushupe.


2019 Pan American Games medal table
The 2019 Pan American Games medal table is a list of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) ranked by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the 2019 Pan American Games, held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019. Approximately 6,650 athletes from 41 NOCs will participate in 419 events in 39 sports.


2019 Pan American Games medal table
The United States topped the medal count with 120 gold and 293 overall medals, its best result in the 21st century. Brazil pulled off its best performance in history, winning 54 gold and 169 overall medals, and finishing second in the standings. Mexico (37 golds) edged Canada (35), Argentina (33) and Cuba (33) in the battle for the third place. The Canadians, however, won the most total medals among the three, 152. For Cuba, it was their worst result since 1971 in terms of gold medals. For Chile, it was their best result in history in terms of golds and total medals.


2019 Pan American Games medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is based on information provided by Panam Sports and is consistent with convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a "nation" is an entity represented by a National Olympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by IOC country code.


2019 Pan American Games medal table, Medal table
In badminton, boxing, judo, karate, racquetball, taekwondo, table tennis, and wrestling two bronze medals will be awarded for each event. Also in bowling, fencing and squash two bronze medals will be awarded in some events. Therefore, the total number of bronze medals will be greater than the total number of gold or silver medals. The following is the medal table maintained by the official website of the games.


2019 Pan American Games medal table, Medal table
The British Virgin Islands won its first ever gold medal and its first ever Pan American Games medal after Chantel Malone won the women's long jump athletics event. Aruba also earned its first medal in the history of the Pan American Games, a bronze medal won by sailor Mack van den Eerenbeemt in men's RS:X. This means all current participating countries have now at least won one medal.


2019 Pan American Games medal table, Medal table
Barbados, Bolivia, Grenada and Paraguay also won their first ever gold medals at the Pan American Games.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2019 Pan American Games took place on Friday July 26, 2019 at the Estadio Nacional del Perú (Pan Am Ceremonies Venue) in Lima, Peru and ran from 20:00 to 23:05 PET. The ceremony was entitled Amazing Peru and featured a stage designed as Pariacaca, the sacred mountain of Lima. It was produced by Italian company Balich Worldwide Shows and directed by creative director Francisco Negrin.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown
The ceremony began with countdown numbers from 30 to zero. In the last 17 numbers, the mountain part of the stage generated colours of the logos of the previous Pan American Games. Afterwards, the volunteers ran to the centre of the stage, forming the logo of the event.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prelude
Afterwards, the President of Panam Sports Neven Ilic and the President of the Republic of Peru Martin Vizcarra were introduced to the crowd. Dancers performed a choreography corresponding to the poem “El Perú” by Marco Martos, expressed in all the 49 languages of Peru including Spanish. Afterwards, they joined together and sang the National Anthem in both spoken and sign language, while the national flag was raised by Peruvian Armed Forces personnel after being brought in earlier.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prelude
This was followed by an introductory performance with three segments, the first being "The Calling" which represents the call of god Pariacaca for 41 member nations of Pan Am Sports to participate in the sporting event. The second segment, "Dawn" represents the scenery of Lima at dawn. The performance was divided into two parts: Pacific and Amances. The Pacific part represents the Pacific ocean which borders Peru, while the Amances part represents amancaes flowers, the floral symbol of Lima and the namesake local festival. Rocío Larrañaga the surfer featured in the Pacific part of the Dawn segment.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prelude
In the third segment, "Sports", Cajones gather on the stadium's stage and play music, during which the sports pictograms appeared on the stage on the mountain and Charlie Parra playing guitar. The performance concluded with performance of the official song of the games: "Jugamos Todos" by Guillermo Bussinger, Pelo D’Ambrosio, Sandra Muente and Shantall with the cajones forming the Games' mascot, Milco.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
During the Parade of Nations, each country's team marched into the stadium, preceded by a person dressed as Ekeko. The Caral stage reproduced the colours of the corresponding national flag, while the screen on the mountain displayed the natural scenery of each participating nations of the games. When each team arrived at the center, the whole mountain showed the natural scenery of each team’s country. As per tradition, Peru as the host nation entered last.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event
Soon afterwards was the creative segments, divided into five segments: Pago a la tierra (a ritual frequently practiced in the Peruvian Andes), Superfoods, Looms, The Cutting Edge and Streets. Superfoods depict the food crops found in the country, Looms depicts Loom as an equipment used to weave textiles using wool and cottons, the cutting edge depicts clothes that made out of Peru's fabrics and Streets depicts the modern everyday life of Peru. The Superfood featured Chef Micha Tsamura, while the Cutting Edge part of Weaving segment featured electric violinist Pauchi Sasaki.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event
The Panam Sports flag are carried by former Peruvian sportsmen including Gladys Euesbio, Roberto Abugattas, Raul Pacheco, Natalia Cuglievan, Luis Minamy, Carlos Zegarra and Monica Liyau and raised to the Panam Sport anthem by the armed forces.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event
"Dear friends of the 41 countries of the Americas and the world, Welcome to the biggest sports party on the continent. Peru, land of great cultures and an ancient history, welcomes you with open arms. It is an honour for me to inaugurate the eighteenth Pan American Games Lima 2019". - Martin Vizcarra, President of the Republic of Peru, declaring the Games open in Spanish.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event
After speeches by Carlos Neuhaus and Neven Ilic, the President of the Republic of Peru declares the Games open.


2019 Pan American Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event
During the relay segment, the cauldron based on an Incan sun appeared on top of the mountain after a ray of light was shot on it. The torch was carried into the stadium by Peruvian sportsmen, Olympic athletics medallist Edith Moeding. He passed on the torch to two young athletes: judo's Ariana Balterzar Minan and tennis player Carlos Fernandez and Volleyball player Lucha Fuentes. Lucha handed the torch to last torch bearer and Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics women volleyball silver medalist team member–Cecilia Tait who lit the cauldron. The ceremony concluded with Puerto Rican international star Luis Fonsi performing seven songs including global hit song–Despacito (lit. 'Slowly'). (Since 4 August 2017, Despacito's music video is the most-viewed YouTube video.)


2019 Pan American Games torch relay
The 2019 Pan American Games torch relay is a 23-day torch run, occurring from July 4 to July 26, 2019, being held prior to the start of the Games. The relay brought the torch from Machu Picchu to the Pan American Ceremonies Venue for the opening ceremony after a lighting ceremony at the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico on 2 July 2019.


2019 Pan American Judo Championships
The 2019 Pan American Judo Championships was held in Lima, Peru from 25 to 28 April 2019.


2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships
The 2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships took place in Barranquilla, Colombia from April 12-20 at the Parque de Racquetas La Castellana, which was used for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. Bolivia won both Men’s Singles and Doubles for the 1st time in tournament history, while Mexico won both Women’s Singles and Doubles for the 5th time.


2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships
Carlos Keller of Bolivia successfully defended the gold medal he won in 2018 by defeating the USA’s Charlie Pratt in the Men’s Singles final, and Keller’s brother Roland won gold in Men’s Doubles with Conrrado Moscoso, as they defeated Canadians Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray in the final. Roland Keller's gold was his 2nd in Men's Doubles at the Pan Am Championships, as he'd previously won gold with Ricardo Monroy in 2012.


2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships
Paola Longoria won Pan Am Championship gold in Women’s Singles for a record extending 8th time in Barranquilla, where she defeated Maria Jose Vargas in the final. Longoria and Samantha Salas won Women’s Doubles for a 6th time together. Their win over Colombians Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros in the final was the 6th consecutive title for Mexico. Mexico has won 9 of the last 10 Women’s Doubles titles at the Pan Am Championships, and either Longoria or Salas (or both) has been part of the winning team.


2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships, Tournament format
The competition had four events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles. Each event had a group stage followed by a medal round. The results of the group stage were used to seed players for the medal round. The group stage began April 13 and concluded April 15. The medal round began April 17.


2019 Pan American Racquetball Championships, Participating nations
A total of 15 countries have entered athletes: 42 men and 32 women.


2019 Pan American Table Tennis Championships
The 2019 Pan American Table Tennis Championships were held in Asunción, Paraguay from 3 to 8 September 2019.


2019 Pan American Track Cycling Championships
The 2019 Pan American Track Cycling Championships took place at the Velodrome of the Sports Training Center (CEFED) in Cochabamba, Bolivia,  from 4 to 8 September 2019.


2019 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships
The 2019 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships is the 20th edition of the biennial track and field competition for under-20 athletes from the Americas, organised by the Association of Panamerican Athletics. It is held in San José, Costa Rica, from 19 to 21 July 2019.


2019 Pan American Weightlifting Championships
The 2019 Pan American Weightlifting Championships was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 23 to 27 April 2019.


2019 Pan American Wrestling Championships
The 2019 Pan American Wrestling Championships was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 19 to 21 April 2019.


2019 Pan American Wrestling Championships
The top three countries in the 18 weight categories scheduled to be held at the 2019 Pan American Games (also in Lima) will qualify for the Pan American Games. If Peru has not qualified at the end of the 2019 Pan American Championships, the third spot available at the tournament will be awarded to Peru.


2019 Pan American Wrestling Championships
The USA has become the first time in history that a team has won every gold in a freestyle style at the Pan Am Championships.


2019 Panamanian general election
General elections were held in Panama on 5 May 2019. Due to constitutional term limits, Incumbent President Juan Carlos Varela was ineligible for a second consecutive term. Businessman and politician Laurentino Cortizo won the election with around 33% of the vote. Chairman Rómulo Roux lost a close race, polling just around 31% of the vote.


2019 Panamanian general election, Electoral system
Of the 71 members of the National Assembly, 26 will be elected in single-member constituencies and 45 by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Each district with more than 40,000 inhabitants forms a constituency. Constituencies elect one MP for every 30,000 residents and an additional representative for every fraction over 10,000.


2019 Panamanian general election, Electoral system
In single-member constituencies MPs are elected using the first-past-the-post system. In multi-member constituencies MPs are elected using party list proportional representation according to a double quotient; the first allocation of seats uses a simple quotient, further seats are allotted using the quotient divided by two, with any remaining seats are awarded to the parties with the greatest remainder.


2019 Panamanian general election, Electoral system
The President is elected through plurality vote in one round.


2019 Panda Cup
The 2019 Panda Cup was the sixth edition of the international youth association football competition.


2019 Panda Cup
The tournament was hosted in Chengdu between 25 and 29 May 2019, and was include an international youth football development forum as part of the event. Previously held as an under-19 event, Chengdu Football Association announced that the 2019 edition would be an under-18 event.


2019 Panda Cup
South Korea finished top of the standings for the tournament but were later stripped of the title following prizegiving celebrations which were considered offensive and disrespectful to both the tournament hosts and the Chinese people.


2019 Panda Cup, Participating teams
In May 2018, it was announced that hosts China had invited South Korea, New Zealand and Thailand to participate in the 2019 Panda Cup. Thailand opted to name an U-18 side in preparation for the 2019 AFF Under-18 Cup., as did China and South Korea, while New Zealand elected to send their U17 side in preparation for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup later in the year,


2019 Panda Cup, Controversies
Following the completion of the competition, the South Korea team was criticised for disrespecting the trophy. A South Korean player was seen to place the trophy on the ground and place his foot on it, while others reportedly simulated urinating on the trophy, a move widely considered insulting. The Panda Cup organising committee issued a formal statement on the issue and demanded an apology from the players and the South Korean representatives. South Korea were subsequently stripped of the title despite the apology.


2019 Papua New Guinea Hunters season
The 2019 Intrust Super Cup was the PNG Hunters sixth season in the Queensland Cup after securing their future for the next four years until 2022. Adex Wera was the captain of the team and he was assisted by his deputy Moses Meninga The Hunters only won four of their games and drew one with a record eighteen losses for the season. 18 new players made their debuts while poor form and discipline let the team down. Five Hunters players were named in the Papua New Guinea Kumuls squad for the 2019 Oceania Cup (rugby league) Pool B Ox & Palm Pacific Invitational Tests against Toa Samoa and  Fiji Bati and also for the match against the touring Great Britain Lions .


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League
The 2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited National Soccer League, was the 13th edition of Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, the top-tier football league in Papua New Guinea. It started on 26 January 2019. Toti City F.C. were the defending champions.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League
The title was won by Toti City, who picked up their fifth title after defeating eight-time champions Hekari United in the final on penalties.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Format
A brand new format for the competition was announced on 19 November 2018, with the league being split into the four regions of the country: Northern (Momase), Southern (Papua), Highlands and Islands. Each league ran simultaneously, and the top two teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Format
In the quarter-finals, the conference winners played at home against the conference runners-up, with the Northern Conference teams drawn against those from the Highlands Conference, and the Southern Conference teams against those from the Islands Conference. The winners proceeded to the semi-finals, with two home and away legs. The winning two sides proceeded to the Grand Final, with both teams then eligible to represent Papua New Guinea at the 2020 OFC Champions League.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Teams
On 18 January 2019, 28 teams were confirmed as taking part. This was reduced to 27 after Admiralty FC withdrew.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Teams
Four teams returned following the 2018 season: champions Toti City FC, regular season runners-up FC Morobe Wawens, 2018 grand finalists Besta PNG United, and Southern Strikers, all except the latter being drawn into the Northern Conference. Following the league split, five teams returned to the NSL after at least two years' absence, including eight-time champions Hekari United, two-time runners-up Eastern Stars, former runners up and four-time third-placed Morobe United, and PRK Gulf Komara (previously Erema FC).


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Teams
Furthermore, three clubs who had taken part in the two editions of the breakaway National Premier League entered the NSL for the first time: 2017 Northern Conference champions Markham FC, Lahi FC and Laiwaden FC. The rest of the teams – sixteen in total, including all the teams in the Highlands and Islands Conference – were debutants.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
The Southern Conference kicked off on 26 January 2019, the first of the four conferences to begin. Hekari United played their first NSL match for almost three years, winning 1–0 against debutants FC Bougainville, while there were opening day wins for debutants Central United and Port Moresby United. Both of the latter started strongly before Central United faded, while Port Moresby United went into the mid-season break in second with 16 points, five behind leaders Hekari, who had won seven games from seven, and four ahead of Bougainville on 12. Gulf Komara and Central sat fourth and fifth on 10 points. Two-time runners-up Eastern Stars had struggled to find their feet upon their return to the league, losing three of their opening four games before a minor recovery saw them into the halfway point in sixth with nine points.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
It soon became clear that Hekari would be the runaway winners, while the battle for the second qualification spot was far less predictable. By mid-April, with three games to play, any of the sides from second to sixth could still clinch the second spot, although it was Port Moresby United who had retained the advantage, still sitting three points clear of Central United in third.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
On 20 April, second-placed Port Moresby lost 4–1 to leaders Hekari, while Central were thrashed 6–2 by a resurgent Eastern Stars, thanks in part to four goals from Tau Winnie, and by the final day, Central were out of contention completely following a 6–1 defeat to Port Moresby United on the penultimate week of fixtures. On the last day, Port Moresby United needed just a win against second-from-bottom Star Mountain to qualify behind Hekari, but they were held to a shock 3–3 draw, meaning the winner of Bougainville and Eastern Stars would clinch second spot. A late own goal decided the match 1–0 in Eastern Stars' favour, completing an excellent second half of the season for the Milne Bay side.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
The first half of the Northern Conference was disrupted slightly by Toti City and Morobe Wawens' participation in the 2019 OFC Champions League. Both sides were able to play their opening fixture alongside the rest of the teams, with Toti City winning 3–1 against Morobe United and Wawens suffering a narrow 4–3 defeat at the hands of Besta PNG United.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
Both sides missed the next three rounds of fixtures, with Wawens dropping to the foot of the table and Toti to sixth as a result, with Morobe United leading the way having won their next three matches, including a narrow 1–0 win over current runners-up Besta PNG. Toti soon recovered, however, and by the halfway stage, they were on top of the league with seven wins from seven. Morobe United looked certain to join them in the playoffs, sitting second on 18 points, with Laiwaden FC third with 10.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
A second-half-of-the-season surge from Besta PNG United almost threatened to disrupt the placings of the top two, with Besta winning all seven of their second-half fixtures, including a 1–0 win over Toti on 13 April, and a 3–2 victory over Morobe United the following weekend. However, this was to be Toti's only defeat of the regular season, while Morobe did enough to hold off the advances of their rivals and qualify behind the reigning champions.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
The Highlands Conference kicked off on 10 February, with Aporo Mai taking the early lead following a 5–0 opening day victory over Enga Laima. Laima suffered another heavy defeat the following weekend to Kagua-Erave, losing 11–1, and Aporo Mai's 4–2 defeat to Blue Kumuls allowed Kagua-Erave to go top of the table. Five wins from five saw Kagua lead the way at the halfway stage, with Mount Hagen FC in second on 10 points, and Blue Kumuls in third on seven.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
On 23 March, Blue Kumuls defeated Mount Hagen 2–0, going level on points in second place and setting up a close race for the second playoff spot behind Kagua-Erave. However, fourth-placed Aporo Mai threatened to upstage them both, inflicting a 1–0 defeat on previously undefeated Kagua-Erave the following weekend, and securing a 2–1 victory over Blue Kumuls on the first weekend of April. This left Aporo Mai four points behind Kumuls and Hagen with a game in hand and two weeks to go. However, a 2–1 defeat to playoff rivals Mount Hagen on the penultimate matchday ended their challenge.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
With points tied on the final day of fixtures, Blue Kumuls went into their final match against Kagua-Erave knowing victory would guarantee qualification for the playoffs, while Mount Hagen needed to better Kumuls' result against Enga Laima. Despite Kagua-Erave securing a 1–0 victory over Blue Kumuls, Mount Hagen were unable to capitalise, losing 3–1 to Enga Laima and missing out on the playoffs on goal difference.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
The Islands Conference was the last to kick-off, starting on 24 February. Chebu AROB FC secured an opening-day 4–0 victory over Radazz FC, while West Tribe FC and Greengold Liners played out a 0–0 draw. West Tribe and Chebu AROB had a strong first half of the season, sitting first and second respectively after both sides won all their matches, excepting Tribe's 1–0 victory over Chebu on 9 March.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
However, Radazz FC came back strongly in the second half, securing 3–2 victories over Tribe and Chebu on consecutive weekends, propelling them into second, with Chebu a point behind with a game in hand. However, on 20 April, they could only manage a 2–2 draw against bottom side Gazelle FC, while Chebu secured a vital 3–2 win over West Tribe. Radazz completed their season with a 2–1 win after Greengold Liners, and sat second ahead of West Tribe by a point and behind the already qualified Chebu AROB, but having played a game more than both sides. As such, they could only watch as West Tribe played out their final fixture: a 5–1 thrashing of Gazelle, meaning that they and league winners Chebu would qualify for the playoffs.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Summary
In the playoffs, all four Highlands and Islands teams were eliminated by Northern and Southern Conference sides, with reigning champions Toti City defeating Blue Kumuls 8–1 thanks to a double hat-trick from Raymond Gunemba. In the two-legged semi-finals, previous champions Hekari United and Toti City came out on top against their conference rivals Eastern Stars and Morobe United respectively, before a penalty shoot-out decided the final in Toti City's favour after a 0–0 draw, allowing them to win their fifth consecutive league title.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Regular season, Northern Conference
Matches took place at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium, Lae, and the Laiwaden Oval, Madang.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Regular season, Southern Conference
Matches took place at the Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Regular season, Islands Conference
Matches took place at the Ceremonial Park, Kokopo and the Muthuvel Stadium, Kimbe.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Controversies, Death of Mikes Gewa
On 30 March, Laiwaden FC goalkeeper Mikes Gewa was kicked in the ribs by Morobe Wawens' Jason Farrock, and the player was hospitalised. The player died just under a month later in hospital. It was then revealed that the National Soccer League hadn't taken out medical insurance to cover its players, continuing that it would likely be the case for the following season, and that both the NSL and the clubs taking part had overlooked the issue and should share the blame.


2019 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, Controversies, Playoff draws
The format of the playoffs caused some controversy amongst players, coaches and fans alike, mainly because teams from the same regional division were not kept apart until the final, meaning it was impossible for two sides from the same conference to meet in the final and secure continental qualification. Furthermore, the format was changed twice within a month, leading Eastern Stars' chairman Joseph Ealedona to describe it as 'fraud at the highest level'. PNGFA chairman John Kapi Natto responded to the criticism by distancing the association, which only gives advice on how the competition should be run, from the management of the NSL itself, and stating that he believed the draws were done 'after taking into consideration the costs involved.'


2019 Papua protests
The 2019 Papua protests were a series of protests by Papuans in Indonesia that began on 19 August 2019 and mainly took place across Indonesian Papua region in response to the arrests of 43 Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java for alleged disrespect of the Indonesian flag. Many of the protests involved thousands of participants, and some grew from local protests in Surabaya to demanding an independence referendum for the whole region. In several locations, the protests turned into general riots, resulting in the destruction of government buildings in Wamena, Sorong and Jayapura. Clashes between protesters and police resulted in injuries, with over 30 people killed from both the clashes and the rioting.


2019 Papua protests
In response to the rioting, the government of Indonesia implemented an internet blackout in the region. A Reuters reporter from the Jakarta bureau described the unrest as "Papua's most serious in years".


2019 Papua protests, Background
As a successor state of the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia claimed all of the Dutch colonial territories in the Malay Archipelago, including Papua, formerly known as Netherlands New Guinea. Sovereignty over the region was transferred to Indonesia in 1969 following the controversial "Act of Free Choice." In the years that followed, a low-intensity insurgency occurred across the region. After December 2018, tens of thousands of civilians around the Nduga Regency were displaced following an increased military presence after a massacre of workers constructing the Trans-Papua Highway, and conflict with separatist fighters. In an attempt to reduce tensions in the region, the Indonesian government granted increased autonomy to the provinces of the region, with sitting president Joko Widodo (Jokowi) visiting the region six times since he was sworn into office in 2014.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, 15 August rallies
On 15 August 2019, the anniversary of the 1962 New York Agreement and coinciding with a discussion on Papua in the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu, protests by Papuans were held across several cities in Indonesia, including Jayapura, Sentani, Ternate, Ambon, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, and Malang. Various Papuan student groups joined the protests, which proceeded peacefully in Yogyakarta and Jakarta but saw dispersal by authorities and several protesters arrested in other cities, though they were released soon afterwards. In Bandung, civil militias forced the protesters to change the rally's location. In the city of Malang, Papuan protesters clashed with counter-protesters and later fans of the football club Arema Malang, with racist slurs from the counter-protesters. Five protesters were reported to be "heavily injured", and virtually all protesters were injured in some way.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, 16 August Incident
On 16 August 2019, around the celebrations of the Independence of Indonesia, forty-three Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java were arrested by police following reports that an Indonesian flag was damaged outside the building where they lived. According to police accounts, the building where the students were staying was stormed by police as a crowd was gathering outside the building preparing to assault it. Civil militias from the Islamic Defenders Front and the Pancasila Youth were reported to be present at the location and had attacked the students verbally and physically. Allegedly, the mob had yelled "Monkeys, get out" at the students.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
On 19 August, a crowd of what was estimated by an AFP reporter to be "several thousand" began protesting in Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province. The protest turned into a riot which resulted in the local parliament building being torched. According to Indonesian officials, three police officers were injured by rock-throwing protesters. Aside from public facilities, some private property was also torched. Some of the protesters were carrying the Morning Star flag - the old flag of Netherlands New Guinea used by Free Papua movement - while crying out pro-independence slogans.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
In Indonesia, the action is punishable by up to 15 years of prison. West Papua's vice governor Mohamad Lakotani remarked that the city's economy was completely paralyzed by the protests. According to a spokesman from the National Committee for West Papua, a female protester was shot in the ankle during the protests at Manokwari. Indonesian Armed Forces told media that 300 soldiers were deployed to Manokwari on 21 August, with an overall count of 1,200 security personnel across the week.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
Jayapura, the region's largest city and the provincial capital of Papua, saw hundreds of protesters who forcefully took down the Indonesian flag in front of governor Lukas Enembe's office. Protesters also blocked the road to the city's Sentani Airport.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
In the city of Sorong, protests also occurred with reported gunshots. In response to the "monkey" slur in Surabaya, some of the protesters dressed as monkeys. A mob invaded the Domine Eduard Osok Airport and threw rocks at the airport's glass windows, damaging the terminal building. The attack also temporarily disrupted the airport's operations.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
Aside from the airport, the city's prison was also torched, resulting in the escape of 258 convicts and injuring some prison guards, though on 23 August a prison official noted that most of the escaped prisoners simply were attempting to escape the fire and check for their families and that most of the escapees have returned to prison.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
Around 4,000-5,000 protesters rallied in the mining town of Timika, which saw the damaging a hotel near the local parliament of the Mimika Regency. Further clashes between protesters and police occurred in front of the parliament building, as police dispersed a crowd waiting for Mimika's regent Eltinus Omaleng. Dozens were eventually arrested, charged with damaging of the hotel or coercing a local car repair shop to provide tires for a tire fire. 3 policemen were reported to be injured.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
Thousands of protesters also rallied in the town of Fakfak on 21 August, which saw a local market and office building torched and protesters blocking roads to the Fakfak Torea Airport. Police also fired tear gas on the protesters to disperse the crowds. According to an Indonesian police spokesman, the situation was "contained", and only around 50 people were involved in the torching of the market building. Several people were injured in the protests and clashes.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Protests grow
Rallies were also held in the towns of Merauke, Nabire, Yahukimo and Biak.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Internet blackout
Papuan students in Jakarta also held a rally in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 22 August. On the same day, the Indonesian government announced a total internet blackout in both regions of Papua.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Internet blackout
More peaceful protests continued, with a peaceful "long march" in Sarmi Regency on 23 August and a pro-independence rally in Semarang the following day. Other rallies protesting the racism were also held in Yogyakarta, Bandung and Denpasar, among others. Some activists noted that the protests were the largest to happen in the region for years.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Internet blackout
Protests continued on 26 August, with the West Papuan flag being flown by peaceful protesters in Deiyai Regency numbering 5,000 according to organizers, alongside simultaneous rallies in the Papuan towns of Wamena, Paniai, Yahukimo, and Dogiyai in addition to off-Papua cities such as Makassar. The protest later grew to over 7,000 participants.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Internet blackout
On 28 August, protesters in Deiyai demanded Deiyai's regent sign a petition demanding an independence referendum, but according to official accounts a large mob attacked officers guarding the location, and in the ensuing clashes one Indonesian Army sergeant was killed and some officers injured. There were also reports of civilian casualties - according to the Indonesian National Police, two civilians were killed while local media Suara Papua reported six fatalities. Local human rights activists reported seven civilian deaths. The police later stated that five protesters were killed following an attempt to seize police weapons.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Escalation of violence
On 29 August, protesters reportedly charged and torched several government buildings and a shopping center. The Indonesian police reacted by firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Escalation of violence
On the morning of 30 August, continued violent protests resulted in the General Elections Commission branch in Jayapura to be torched, burning documents of local representatives elected in the 2019 election. Protesters had also torched buildings and cars the previous day in the city, breaking into a prison in the Abepura district. That night, a further 1,250 security personnel were deployed to Jayapura.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, August, Escalation of violence
On the same day, pro-independence protesters occupied the provincial governor's buildings. The protests spread outside the regions of Papua and West Papua, with pro-Papuan independence protests even being held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Clashes and fighting between two sides
On 1 September, three Papuan students had allegedly been shot in their university dormitories by pro-government militia groups. Footage emerged of Indonesian security troops allegedly firing live rounds into nonviolent protesting crowds during the previous week, killing 6-8 demonstrators. The incident in Deiyai, Papua happened on 28 August 2019, when a protest by around 150 peoples turned violent when a separate group armed with bows and arrows as well as machetes joined the protest and incited the crowd to attack law enforcement officers and caused riots.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Clashes and fighting between two sides
The Indonesian Embassy in Canberra responded to the accusation with the statement:


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Clashes and fighting between two sides
"Law enforcement officers have tried to reason with the crowd and calmed them down. It must also be noted that the officers were extremely restrained in their response. However, the crowd ignored the pleas of the officers and attacked them with arrows. The law enforcement officers have tried to disperse the crowd with warning shots and tear gas, but the attacks continued.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Clashes and fighting between two sides
"Afterwards the law enforcement officers were forced to fire, in line with their obligation to restore public order, as well as in self-defence. In such circumstances, any law enforcement agencies in every country will do the same to maintain security and public order, as well as to safeguard the lives and property of the public at large. Even so, there was one officer who was killed, while six more officers were wounded, all shot with arrows."


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Clashes and fighting between two sides
Indonesian police arrested dozens of demonstrators involved in the protests. Indonesian authorities allege the arrested demonstrators had taken part in the torching of government buildings on 29 August. A young Papuan man was reportedly killed after Indonesian police arrived to disperse a demonstration in Abepura.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Ban on protests
On 2 September, the Indonesian government flew an additional 6,000 police and military servicemen into Papua amidst the internet blackout. Indonesian authorities banned what they deemed were "violent protests" and warned that any person caught "supporting separatism" or "expressing separatist opinions" in public would be arrested and charged with treason. Indonesian immigration authorities announced that four Australian nationals that had allegedly taken part in pro-independence demonstrations would be deported from the country.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Ban on protests
On the same day, the Indonesian government announced that access to the regions of Papua and West Papua to foreign nationals would be restricted. Indonesian police blocked a pro-independence march on Manokwari.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Ban on protests
On Wednesday, 4 September, East Java Regional Police chief Luki Hermawan accused human rights lawyer Veronica Koman of sparking the Papua protests by using her Twitter account to spread information about the arrest of 43 Papuan students in East Java, stating that "she was very active in spreading provocative news." Indonesia's national police chief vowed to find and arrest suspected activists and stated that the police "will chase them ... we already know who they are." Later, Indonesian officials submitted an Interpol notice to arrest Koman - who according to police spokesman had left for Australia - following a raid in her deserted Jakarta home.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Ban on protests
The United Nations Human Rights Office issued a statement condemning the violence in Papua, calling on Indonesian authorities to restrain nationalist militias targeting protesters and prevent the ongoing by that point intimidation of journalists, human rights defenders and students. The office also called for official dialogue between the Indonesian government and the people of Papua.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Ban on protests
On 5 September, the Indonesian government partially lifted the internet blackout that it had imposed on the region while warning that it could abruptly reinstate it at any point if it deems that the situation had "worsened".


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Protests resume
In 2019 one student was reported to have been killed during fresh protests on 23 September, with the Indonesian military claiming that protesters had burned down a government office in Wamena. According to the commander of the local military district, 16 civilians were killed and 65 injured with no police or military casualties in the ensuing riots. According to local authorities, the particular set of protests was triggered by a separate racism incident within the city. A Kompas correspondent in Wamena reported that gunshots sounded across the city and that civilians were taking shelter in police stations and military bases. Out of the 16 civilians killed, 13 had come from outside the province, and most deaths occurred as they were trapped in buildings torched by the angry mob. Responding to the protests, the Communication and Information Ministry reactivated the internet blackout in Wamena.


2019 Papua protests, Timeline, September, Protests resume
In separate protests and clashes in Jayapura, three protesters and one police officer were reportedly killed. The clashes in Jayapura occurred between a group protesting at Cenderawasih University which according to authorities was the Papuan Students Alliance, and authorities in addition to pro-military civilian militias.


2019 Papua protests, Refugees
Owing to the rioting and unrest, around 15,000 civilians were evacuated from Wamena, with a further 1,726 internally displaced within the town in early October. Going the opposite direction, around 2,000 Papuan students returned from other cities across Indonesia to their home towns and cities, reporting a feeling of intimidation and danger.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, Domestic
Responding to the protests, the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology implemented an internet shutdown around Sorong, in a move that was stated to be one to combat disinformation, later expanded to cover the entire region. The ministry also reported having shut down social media accounts which "shared provocative content". The internet shutdown resulted in another protest against the ministry in Jakarta by rights organisations.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, Domestic
On the night of 19 August, President Joko Widodo released a statement urging calm and noted to the Papuans that "it's OK to be emotional, but it's better to be forgiving. Patience is also better.". Joko Widodo also prepared a visit to the region. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto also released a statement that promised a "complete and fair" investigation into the incident in Surabaya and added that the situation in Papua was under control. Wiranto further claimed that a "certain party" was benefitting from the chaotic situation.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, Domestic
He also stated that he had instructed security forces to avoid repressive measures and not use regular ammunition, and rejected the possibility of a referendum. National Police chief Tito Karnavian claimed that the riots had been caused by, aside from the incident in Surabaya and treatment of the involved students, a hoax about one of the students being killed during their detention.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, Domestic
Deputy Speaker of the People's Representative Council Fadli Zon called for an investigation into parties responsible for the racism incident in Surabaya. East Java's regional police formed a team to investigate the accusations. Bishop of Amboina Petrus Canisius Mandagi called for peaceful protests and remarked that Papuans "should not be savage like those who spout racism". Indonesian Senator from Papua Yorrys Raweyai, explaining that the demand for the disbandment of Nahdlatul Ulama's Banser was a demand from the protesters at Sorong. Papua governor Lukas Enembe visited the Papuan students' building in Surabaya on 27 August, but he was turned away by the students, who had been rejecting all visitors such as Surabaya's Mayor Tri Rismaharini.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, Domestic
Tri Susanti, a Gerindra member and a leader of the Surabaya protests against the Papuan students, publicly apologized following the protests across Papua and denied accusations of physical violence against the students.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, Domestic
West Papuan independence figure Benny Wenda commented that the incident in Surabaya had "lit the bonfire of nearly 60 years of racism, discrimination and torture of the people of West Papua by Indonesia". A spokesperson for the West Papua Liberation Army (a pro-independence armed group) stated that the group had not participated in the protests.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, International
United Nations — UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet urged the Indonesian government to enter into talks with Papuans. She noted that Indonesian authorities had not permitted her to visit Papua, despite agreeing to such a visit "in principle" before the start of the protests.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, International
Australia — The Australian government urged restraint "by all relevant parties", with the nation's foreign minister stating that Australia was "very concerned" about reports of violence in Papua would "follow up" with Indonesian authorities.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, International
Solomon Islands — The Solomon Islands filed a joint petition with Vanuatu to the UN Human Rights Commission, in which the countries voiced their "deep concern" for what they deemed to be ongoing at that point violations of human rights and ethnic discrimination practiced by the Indonesian government against Papuans. The two nations also condemned the fact that Indonesian authorities had not yet given access to Papua to the UNHR Commissioner.


2019 Papua protests, Reactions, International
Vanuatu — Prime Minister Charlot Salwai criticized alleged human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indonesian government before the United Nations General Assembly, citing Papua as one of the few remaining Pacific territories that have "yet to break the shackles of colonialism". An Indonesian diplomat present at the meeting condemned the Vanuatu Prime Minister's statement and declared that "Papua is, has [been] and will always be, part of Indonesia".


2019 Papua protests, Aftermath, Arrests and trial
Following the protests, dozens of people were arrested under various charges. In Jayapura alone, police reported the arrest of 28 suspects under charges of looting and damaging buildings, among others. Two students in Jakarta who allegedly flew the West Papuan flag were arrested under charges of treason.


2019 Papua protests, Aftermath, Arrests and trial
Four Australian citizens were deported from Sorong by Indonesian authorities after having found to take part in the protests. On 9 September, police arrested 18 people from the student dormitory of Cenderawasih University in Jayapura.


2019 Papua protests, Aftermath, Lawsuit on internet blackout
Responding on the escalating protest, Indonesian authority announced a total internet blackout in all Papua regions on 22 August 2019. The blackout continued until 6 September when it was partially lifted for several regions, with the complete lifting of the blackout only occurred on 11 September. Despite broad criticism from human rights activists, reporters, and Papuan civilians realising their daily activities was severely hindered by the blackout, Indonesian authority defended the decision as necessary to prevent the spread of hate speech and hoax that may worsen the protests. Due to the blackout, a Telkom Indonesia office in Jayapura was burned by the protesters.


2019 Papua protests, Aftermath, Lawsuit on internet blackout
On 21 November 2019, Indonesian public organisations, including Indonesian Journalists Association, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, among others, filed a lawsuit against the President of Indonesia and the Ministry of Communication decision to block internet access in Papua during the protest. The following lawsuit was processed by the Jakarta Administrative Court.


2019 Papua protests, Aftermath, Lawsuit on internet blackout
After 6 months of trial, the Jakarta Administrative Court announced their ruling in favour of the plaintiff on a court session took place on 3 June 2020. The court found the government had violated emergency law by blocking internet access in Papua by failing to prove that the country was in a state of emergency that necessitated the blackout decision. The judge also argued that the government should only block access to the accounts and documents that violated the law, instead of blocking the internet on the entirety. The court also imposes court costs to the defendants.


2019 Papua protests, Aftermath, Lawsuit on internet blackout
Following the verdict, President of Indonesia and the Ministry of Communications both declared their intention to appeal the verdict on 12 June. On 18 June, the Ministry of Communications decided to retract their attempt to appeal the ruling, with the President following suit on 22 June. The authority justified the decision that the government needs to focus more on efforts to mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.


2019 Paracanoe European Championships
The 2019 Paracanoe European Championships was held in Poznań, Poland, from 21 to 22 May 2019. This event, which is usually part of the Canoe Sprint European Championships, was held separately as the ECA chose not to organise said event because of the European Games.


2019 Paracanoe European Championships, Explanation of events
Paracanoe competitions are contested in either a va'a (V), an outrigger canoe (which includes a second pontoon) with a single-blade paddle, or in a kayak (K), a closed canoe with a double-bladed paddle. All international competitions are held over 200 metres in single-man boats, with three event classes in both types of vessel for men and women depending on the level of an athlete's impairment. The lower the classification number, the more severe the impairment is - for example, VL1 is a va'a competition for those with particularly severe impairments.